The Russian investment firm that holds stakes in Vimpelcom and Turkcell this week established itself in London under a new name and announced that it has US$16 billion to spend on mobile, telecoms infrastructure and digital services companies.
LetterOne Technology, or L1T, is seeking to increase its portfolio of mobile businesses and acquire digital services capabilities that complement those assets, it said.
L1T was created from Alfa Group’s telecoms interests, namely a 47.85% voting stake in Russia’s Vimpelcom and 13.22% of Turkcell. Until now it was known as LetterOne Telecom.
"The name change reflects the company’s focus on acquisitions in digital and other business, as well as those in telecoms directly," a spokesman for L1T told Total Telecom.
The firm marked its arrival in London with the announcement that it has a $16 billion fund and is looking for new acquisitions in three main areas: existing mobile businesses, with the possibility for turning around distressed or underperforming assets; complementary network infrastructure businesses, such as data centres and towers companies; and Internet-based companies providing streaming services, apps and the like.
With regard to that last category, L1T said it is targeting digital companies that could join up with its existing mobile assets and benefit from its 200 million-strong customer base.
The company’s decision to locate itself in London does not mean its focus is entirely European though.
"[L1T is] considering international acquisitions, not confined to Europe," the spokesman confirmed.
"The launch of LetterO ne Technology is a reflection of the company’s expansion into digital systems which are already revolutionising [the] global telecoms business," said Alexey Reznikovich, CEO and managing partner of L1T, in a statement.
Reznikovich has a number of big names to help him in his quest for new deals.
L1T’s advisory board includes Poynt founder and CEO Osama Bedier, lastminute.com founder Brent Hoberman, former Vodafone executive Julian Horn-Smith, Digicel founder Denis O’Brien, and Russ Shaw, who held senior mobile positions at Skype and O2.
